Indonesian lending firm shifts focus from students to businesses

Pintek management team / Photo credit: Pintek

Pintek, an Indonesia-based fintech firm, has shifted its focus from student loan services to business financing, the company confirmed to Tech in Asia.

Tommy Yuwono, Pintek co-founder and president director, said the startup has worked with distributors and suppliers before and it “will be focusing on expanding this line of business,” moving beyond the education sector.

Founded in 2018, Pintek has provided students of kindergarten to postgraduate education with loans ranging from 3 million rupiah (US$194) to 500 million rupiah (US$32,300), with repayment tenures of up to two years.

Yuwono didn’t confirm whether the company has terminated education financing altogether, but the company’s website doesn’t list any student loan services under its product menu.

Instead, the website only provides information on supply-chain financing – meant for producers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers – as well as business financing based on purchase order documents or invoices.

The company has raised at least US$28 million to date, according to Tech in Asia data, including US$7 million in series A money in late 2021. Earlier that year, Pintek was among the 10 lending firms that received operating licenses from Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority.

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Currency converted from Indonesian rupiah to US dollar: US$1 = 15,459 rupiah.